Laini Taylor (born December 22, 1971) is an American young adult fantasy author and a finalist for the National Book Award in Young People's Literature,[1] best known for the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series, Strange the Dreamer, and Muse of Nightmares.

Laini Taylor
Taylor in March 2018
Taylor in March 2018
Born (1971-12-11) December 11, 1971 (age 52)
Chico, California, U.S.
OccupationWriter
Alma materUniversity of California, Berkeley
Period2004–present
GenreYoung adult fantasy
Notable works
Notable awards
SpouseJim Di Bartolo (2001–present)
ChildrenClementine
Relatives
  • Alex (older brother)
  • Emily (younger sister)
Signature
Website
lainitaylor.com

Biography

edit

Taylor was born in Chico, California, grew up as a US military kid in Europe and California, and earned her English degree from UC Berkeley. She currently lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband and daughter.[2] She always wanted to be a writer, and was 35 before she finished her first novel.[3]

Career

edit
 
Event chalkboard at with Taylor at Powell's Books

In 2004, she wrote a graphic novel for Image Comics, illustrated by her husband, Jim Di Bartolo.[4] Her first novel, Dreamdark: Blackbringer, was published in 2007. The sequel, Dreamdark: Silksinger, was a winner of the 2009 Cybil Award.[5] In 2011, she published Daughter of Smoke and Bone, a young adult fantasy series. The first book in the series was chosen by Amazon as the Best Teen Book of 2011,[6] and the sequel, Days of Blood and Starlight, was also on the list in 2012.[7] In 2017, she published Strange the Dreamer, followed by its sequel Muse of Nightmares in 2018, in which protagonist Lazlo Strange, a scribe and polyglot, journeys to the Lost City of Weep. Taylor created a unique language for this world, which she weaves into the plot. Strange the Dreamer became a Michael L. Printz Honor Book[8] as well as the 2018 Leslie Bradshaw Award for Young Adult Literature.[9]

Works

edit

Faeries of Dreamdark

edit
  • Dreamdark: Blackbringer (2007)
  • Dreamdark: Silksinger (2009)

Daughter of Smoke and Bone

edit

Strange the Dreamer

edit

Graphic novels

edit
  • The Drowned, illustrated by Jim Di Bartolo (2004)

Collections

edit
  • Lips Touch: Three Times (2009)
  • "Spanking Robots" in Fractured Fables (2010)
  • "Gentleman Send Phantoms" in Foretold: 14 Tales of Prophecy and Prediction (2012)
  • "The Girl Who Woke the Dreamer" in My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories(2014)

References

edit
  1. ^ "Portland Writer Laini Taylor is National Book Award finalist". Retrieved June 5, 2017.
  2. ^ "Laini Taylor's Blog: About Laini". Retrieved March 2, 2013.
  3. ^ "5 Writing Tips from Laini Taylor". Publishers Weekly. November 16, 2012. Retrieved March 2, 2013.
  4. ^ "This July, "The Drowned" surfaces from Image" (Press release). Comic Book Resources. April 13, 2004. Retrieved March 2, 2013.
  5. ^ "The 2009 Cybils Winners". Retrieved March 2, 2013.
  6. ^ "Best Books of 2011: Young Adult". Amazon.com. Retrieved March 2, 2013.
  7. ^ "Best Teen Books of 2012". Amazon.com. Retrieved March 2, 2013.
  8. ^ "PRINTZ HONOR!!!". www.lainitaylor.com. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
  9. ^ Oregonian/OregonLive, Amy Wang | The (May 2, 2018). "2018 Oregon Book Awards honor 10 authors". oregonlive. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
edit